Mr. Michael Rowley reports

STILLWATER CRITICAL MINERALS EXPANDS 2026 EXPLORATION PROGRAM AND PROVIDES PROJECT UPDATE

Stillwater Critical Minerals Corp. has commenced its largest exploration program to date at the Stillwater West critical mineral project in Montana, including the addition of a third drill rig, mobilization of field crews, and multiple technical initiatives supporting continued resource growth and project advancement.

In parallel, the company's updated mineral resource estimate is in the final stages of resource estimation and independent review. The scope of work associated with the updated estimate has grown substantially from the January, 2023, MRE through the incorporation of results from multiple drilling campaigns and expanded geological modelling across multiple deposits at Stillwater West.

The company has engaged Fleet Space Technologies to conduct a passive seismic ambient noise tomography survey at the Stillwater West project, focused on imaging the lower stratigraphy and structural architecture of the Stillwater igneous complex. The company has also engaged Simcoe Geoscience to infill surface induced polarization lines within the Chrome Mountain and Iron Mountain resource areas.

Primary objectives of the expanded 2026 field program include:

• Expansion of existing near-surface resources at Chrome Mountain and Iron Mountain, the company's primary resource growth areas, and other priority areas;
• Continued targeting of higher-grade nickel-copper-platinum-group-element sulphide and polymetallic mineralization within the existing resource footprint;
• Follow-up drilling on priority geophysical and geological targets identified through the company's district-scale targeting programs;
• Completion of targeted ground geophysical surveys to refine existing deposit expansion targets and generate additional exploration drill targets across the project area;
• Testing new zones of sulphide mineralization within the lower Stillwater igneous complex; and
• Supporting future technical and economic studies through continued resource growth and geological derisking.

Together, these initiatives are designed to advance the company's understanding of the district while supporting continued resource growth and future project development.

Michael Rowley, president and chief executive officer of Stillwater Critical Minerals, commented: "We are pleased with the progress being made across multiple aspects of the project. The updated mineral resource estimate represents a substantial body of technical work that incorporates several years of drilling, geological modelling and resource evaluation. The 2026 program integrates resource expansion drilling, advanced geophysics and geological modelling in support of the 2026 MRE, and future technical studies. We believe this integrated approach positions Stillwater West well for continued resource growth and future technical studies."

Dr. Danie Grobler, vice-president, exploration, commented: "Our geoscientific exploration team is focused on expansion of the two near-surface large, mineralized zones discovered on the eastern side of Chrome Mountain (Bald Hills) and to follow up on our 2025 success connecting the CZ-Central-HGR resource areas at Iron Mountain. Both areas contain shallow broad zones of magmatic sulphide-rich mineralization that is expected to further expand our soon-to-be-released 2026 MRE. Our planned geophysical surveys include ground induced polarization and ground magnetics. The IP survey will infill previous surveys to constrain chargeable and conductive anomalies while the ground magnetic lines are oriented to identify high-grade structurally controlled N-structures. A large ambient noise seismic tomography survey is planned to cover large portions of our project area across Chrome Mountain and Iron Mountain. Stillwater has extensive geological, geophysical, geochemical and drilling data sets that will be integrated with Fleet's seismic-led workflow for exploration intelligence. The partnership will combine Stillwater's existing data with Fleet's ANT and ExoSphere Discovery's machine learning to deliver a 3-D velocity-constrained, confidence-mapped exploration model. The program is designed to deliver a more complete picture and improved understanding of the subsurface to rapidly build a geological framework, prioritize prospective target volumes and quantify uncertainty predictions needed for confident capital allocation, drilling and development decisions."

Strategic positioning

The company believes that Stillwater West represents one of the largest undeveloped polymetallic critical mineral systems in the United States. The project hosts large-scale resources containing 10 minerals identified as critical by the U.S. government and benefits from excellent infrastructure, access to power, water, rail and skilled labour within an established mining district. Results from the 2026 program are expected to contribute to continuing resource growth, further definition of higher-grade mineralization and the advancement of future development studies aimed at evaluating potential mining scenarios within the district.

Stillwater West hosts mineralization containing 1.6 billion pounds of nickel, copper and cobalt, 3.8 million ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, 2.3 billion pounds of defined chromium plus undefined quantities of ruthenium and iridium. The project is located adjacent to Sibanye-Stillwater's producing operations in Montana's historic Stillwater mining district, providing access to established infrastructure, work force and mining expertise.

The company expects to provide regular updates throughout the 2026 field season and looks forward to the release of the 2026 MRE in the near term.

Coming events

Company representatives will be attending the following events to discuss coming catalysts:

1. Montana Mining Association annual meeting 2026 -- Butte, Mont., United States, July 13 to July 15, 2026;
2. Commodities Global Expo -- Tempe, Ariz., United States, Sept. 18 to Sept. 20, 2026;
3. Precious Metals Summit -- Beaver Creek, Colo., United States, Sept. 22 to Sept. 25, 2026.

About Stillwater Critical Minerals Corp.

Stillwater is a mineral exploration and development company advancing its 100-per-cent-owned Stillwater West nickel-platinum-group-element-copper-cobalt-chromium plus gold project in the Stillwater mining district of Montana, United States. Stillwater West is directly adjacent to Sibanye-Stillwater's operating Stillwater mines and processing infrastructure, the only primary platinum-group-element-producing complex in the United States. A National Instrument 43-101 mineral resource estimate released in January, 2023, positions Stillwater West as one of the largest nickel and platinum group element resources in the United States, and contains 10 minerals currently listed as critical in the United States. With strategic investments by Glencore and an experienced technical team with expertise in Bushveld- and Platreef-style systems, the company is advancing Stillwater West through continuing resource expansion and technical studies.

Stillwater also holds a 49-per-cent interest in the high-grade Drayton-Black Lake gold project adjacent to Nexgold Mining's development-stage Goliath gold complex in Northwestern Ontario, currently under an earn-in agreement with Heritage Mining, and the Kluane PGE-Ni-Cu-Co critical mineral project on trend with Nickel Creek Platinum's Wellgreen deposit in Canada's Yukon territory. The company also holds the Duke Island Cu-Ni-PGE property in Alaska and maintains a back-in right on the high-grade past-producing Yankee-Dundee in British Columbia, following its sale in 2013.

We seek Safe Harbor.